Terrell Villiers

Terrell Villiers is a self-taught cartoon illustrator based in Miami, Florida. First-generation American born to British-Jamaican immigrants. In his illustration work, he explores the myriad of unaddressed traumas he experienced growing up visibly queer in a conservative Caribbean household. He creates a series of cartoon characters and fantasy worlds as a form of survival to transport himself to imaginary spaces unbound to any rule or order. Terrell states: “I see my illustrations as a visual manifesto, to open a portal that explores a neo-futuristic world where black queer life is protected and preserved. Where we remove the masks that society forces us to wear, and exercise freedom and autonomy over our bodies. Where we free ourselves from the constraints of patriarchal-capitalist societies, and manifest communities where we can support and heal all of our brothers and sisters and unify as one. This exactly what I strive to encapsulate in my cartoons.”

Terrell has acted as a freelance artist and community organizer in Miami. In his freelance work, he’s created large scale graphic illustrations for a series of different events, publications, Magazines and brands and has been featured on pages such as: Kaleidoscope Magazine, Gucci, The Standard Hotel, B4 Sounds Records, Afropunk, Teen Vogue, Ghetto Gothic, L’Enchanteur, Dream Defenders, and Fempower. As of recent, Terrell acted as Lead Illustrator and Artistic Director of ‘Myristica’ a comic book depicting experimental cellist, singer, and songwriter Kelsey Lu, as the protagonist, illuminating her personal journey of liberation, Terrell has also acted as a Art Director, Curator, and Designer for ‘Masisi’, a Black-Queer Caribbean Party and Production Studio that explores the Afro-Caribbean diaspora through different events & programming in Miami.